Kathleen
5/29/2013 – Marrakesh
Our last stop in Morocco, Marrakesh is a large city with a very Moroccan feel, but also has some newer areas. Although the Medina was not as clausterphobic as the one in Fez, it had its own hazards….mainly, other than cars, any form of transportation is utilized down the narrow, windy, stall-filled streets. Motorbikes whoosh by in either direction at frightening speeds while bicycles and carts fight along with pedestrians for their own space to get through. After three days in Marrakesh, we feel pretty lucky to have made it through without being run over. That said, and true, we found that we preferred Marrakesh to Casablanca and Fez because it had many different, distinct areas, and even the Medina was broken up now and then by a wide street with sidewalks, so that you could get a bit of a break from the madding crowd.
We saw some beautiful old buildings with fantastic tile work and wood work, an inspired garden designed by Yves St. Laurent, an old Islamic school, a very old palace, many, many minarets and we stumbled upon an old souk (which is a specific artisan and shopping area usually for one type of product. We were in the clothing souk, and it seemed to be free of vehicles and hard-selling Moroccans, so we were able to browse a bit in peace.
Like every other riad we stayed in, the one in Marrakesh had a glorious roof terrace which was a place for a bit of welcome quiet at the end of a busy day.
Of course our proprietors (this time British) were also extremely accomodating and we had a lovely room and lovely breakfasts laid at at table on the veranda right outside our door. A couple of odd things were that
1) there was no sign outside the riad, just a big wooden door. Now, we did have the adress, but if you have ever been in a medina, or anywhere in Morocco for that matter, this seems pretty useless. There is nowhere to park in mosts parts of the medina so after dragging our suitcases up and down (again fighting with mopeds, bikes, etc.) and arriving at the exact place where the riad was supposed to be (Steve was intellingent enough to look up GPS coordinates for the places we stayed in Morocco) several times and from several different directions, we saw absolutely nothing. I asked a young man in the market and he seemed very happy to oblige us the three minute walk back to where we just were. We thanked him heartily and he held out his hand. Unfortunately, the smallest change I had on me at this point was 100 Dirham (about $12). I apologized, but as I thought he was working in the market where we found him, I said I would come back after I got change…he tried to convince us that 100 Dirham was the going rate to help tourists find their unmarked hotels, but I refused. I looked for him later that afternoon with a crisp 20 Dirham note, but to no avail. The next day, he found us in the street and requested payment. At this point, I only had a 50 dirham note but figured he would want interest paid anyhow and the transaction was complete….whew! When asked why the door was unmarked, the proprietors nonchalantly indicated that previous signs had been stolen and folks continued to find them and (nicely) bring them back, of course with their hands extended for a reward – I bet they thought a couple of hunded Durham was a good rate for that, so therefore they have no sign. I understand that they offer to meet people at the taxi stands but still think they could buy a little paint or something to mark the door.
2) There were no room keys, the doors to the rooms just remained unlocked at all times. This was a little strange for us. We have learned that it is always best to keep your belongings under lock and key. They did have safes in the room, but very small ones which didn’t fit, lets say, a laptop. All was fine and the staff couldn’t have been nicer and nothing was stolen, but we also weren’t the only ones staying there so found this a bit odd…
Anyway, all and all, we quite liked Marrakesh and found its center interesting, its people nice, and the fact that it is modernizing in a slow and nondestructive way, with newer areas sprouting up on the periphery of the old city, pleasant for visiting and spending time there.
I am planning to go back and write a brief summary on our overall views and travel in Morocco, but alas I am falling behind again so that will also have to wait…..on to Portugal!! (Ok, we have already been in Portugal for about 5 days, but don’t tell anyone).
